This application claims the priority of 196 30 854.2, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present invention relates to a head-protecting curtain, and more particularly, to a curtain stored folded at the roof rail, and movable internally in the event of a collision into a protecting position in front of a vehicle door, said curtain then covering at least an upper area of the door opening and being stretched horizontally.
A head-protecting curtain made of tear-resistant fabric or tear-resistant film in a motor vehicle is shown in DE 43 37 656 C2. The curtain is movable under sensor control from a non-operating position in the roof area into an acting position in which it protects the head of the occupant. For this purpose, a cable is tensioned rigidly horizontally and draws the head-protecting curtain downward along the B column and therefore in front of the area of the two side door openings. In order to achieve reliable protection in an effective manner with this head-protecting curtain against an impact on the interior motor vehicle side panel, for example the window panes, this curtain must be able to be drawn down to the vicinity of the sill. However, the tightly stretched tear-resistant head-protecting curtain, as well as the cable holding the latter, poses an obstacle to rescuing the occupants after a collision. The removal of this obstacle requires the use of cutting tools for example, thereby unnecessarily consuming time until first aid can be rendered.
Another head-protecting curtain for a motor vehicle, with similar disadvantages, is also described in DE 36 32 877 A1. This curtain is pulled out in the interior as a tear-resistant film or tear-resistant capture net from the roof area and stretched over the side panel of the vehicle, and is also guided laterally in the vehicle columns.
A vehicle head-protecting curtain is described in DE 43 07 175 A1 for protecting the automobile occupant against a lateral impact. This curtain is made in the form of an airbag which unfolds from the roof rail area in a collision and then fills. The airbag remains connected with the roof rail and the window column area to prevent it from moving horizontally. Here again, following the collision of the occupant with the curtain, the head-protecting curtain located in protective fashion in front of the upper half of the door can hinder the rescue of the occupant from the vehicle through the door opening.
The following publications are mentioned here as general background on head-protecting curtains which, however, cover only a small part of the door opening: DE 42 38 427 A1, DE 42 32 658 A1, DE 36 36 040 A1, and DE 92 11 423 U1.
An object of the present invention is to improve a head-protecting curtain so that an occupant can be rescued from the vehicle in a largely unimpeded fashion.
This object has been in accordance with the present invention by providing that head-protecting curtain has at least two curtain sections that remain connected during the collision and which can be separated from one another after the collision, starting at the lower edge of head-protecting curtain, along a parting line for at least a part of the height.
In order for a head-protecting curtain mounted on the roof rail optimally to fulfill its protective function in the interior in front of a body panel in a collision, the curtain must cover the panel in the protective position and extend for a considerable distance downward from the roof rail, optimally down to the sill, and must be guided laterally if possible so that the head-protecting curtain is not pushed out of its covering position under the load imposed by the occupant.
The known head-protecting curtain, during occupant rescue after a collision, poses, however, an obstacle to its removal at each door opening, using cutting tools for example, unnecessarily consuming time until first aid can be rendered as previously noted. In the present invention, a slit that runs from the bottom edge to the top and is initially closed in the protective position allows the head-protecting curtain to be divided along the slit after the collision, preferably by hand, into two curtain sections, so that rescue of the occupant from the vehicle can begin immediately. In the same way, at least two individual curtain sections can be used that are connected with one another and can be separated from one another after the collision at their connection for at least part of the height.
The curtain sections can be connected by a sewn seam that has the property of separating continuously as the result of a pull on the free end of the sewing thread. This free end of the thread can be formed in a highly visible manner in a gripping section.
The curtain sections that are joined when the impact occurs and can be parted simply by hand after the collision can be used equally effectively in a head-protecting curtain formed by an airbag which fills upon impact and has a parting line with gas-tight edges. The parting line is located most simply in a gas-free zone between two gas chambers, with a plurality of gas chambers connected with one another to conduct gas. A plurality of such parting lines can advantageously be provided on the head-protecting curtain.